Brokerages Set Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target at $177.31

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $175.86.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $145.74 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $156.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $351.20 billion, a PE ratio of 9.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 29.68%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.6% during the first quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 67,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,975,000 after buying an additional 5,327 shares in the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 88.9% during the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 175,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,049,000 after buying an additional 82,429 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% during the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,244,000 after buying an additional 1,475 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 45,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,095,000 after buying an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.4% in the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 860,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,488,000 after purchasing an additional 20,528 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.